Thorner school recycling efforts rewarded

Members of the school council were on hand to recycle gadgets and receive their prize (S)

Published:14:02Monday 17 February 2014

Thorner Church of England Primary school was among three Leeds schools to have received a £300 cash prize for their recycling efforts.

Pupils, their families and school staff have been dropping off unwanted, outdated and broken gadgets in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) banks placed in 30 school playgrounds in summer 2012.

The schools who collected the most electronic waste were rewarded by the council’s partner Weee Link.

Members of the school council from Thorner Church of England Primary School were on hand to collect their prize from Councillor Jack Dunn, deputy executive member for the environment and Vikki Law, scheme manager at Weee Link.

Coun Dunn said: “Well done and a big thank you to all the pupils, families and staff who’ve really got behind the electronics recycling scheme.

“Since summer 2012, all involved have stopped a significant amount of otherwise valuable resources from being wasted in landfill, they’ve helped saved money on landfill taxes and they’ve had a positive impact on their environment and wider community.”

Acting headteacher at Thorner Church of England Primary School, Gemma Whawell, said: “We were delighted when we found out that we were in line for a prize.

“The children, along with their families and staff at the school have shown real commitment to recycling throughout the year and it’s a brilliant acknowledgement of their efforts.

“Our prize will contribute to a bike and scooter shelter for the school.”

Vikki Law, scheme manager at Weee Link, said: “A big ‘thank you’ to all the staff and pupils at Thorner Church of England Primary School for intensifying their efforts to separate electronic equipment for recycling.

“It’s wonderful to see such a big increase in the amount of electrical waste that they’ve collected this term - a well-deserved prize winner!”

Over the autumn term a total of 2,772kg of waste electronics were collected from participating schools.

Since the start of the scheme, schools have recycled 8,395kg of waste electronics to be broken down and recycled by Weee Link.